Playing their third game in four nights and the second half of a back-to-back, the Lightning weren’t able to recover from a subpar first period. They raised their level in the final two periods but only managed to score once. That wasn’t enough to overcome the two goals they allowed in the opening frame. They now have dropped a season-high four consecutive games in regulation.
The Lightning were a step behind the Ducks for much of the first period. They started poorly, allowing the first eight shots of the game. One of those went in the net. Troy Terry was given room in the offensive zone to take an uncontested shot, and he zipped it off the inner part of the crossbar at 5:26. Frank Vatrano added a second goal when the Lightning were loose with their d-zone coverage. Jacob Trouba was open for a left-point shot, and Vatrano was left unguarded in front of the net. Vatrano deflected the puck past Jonas Johansson at 17:03.
The Lightning played much better after the first period, and their improved play is reflected in their shot total. They recorded just five shots on net in the first and had 32 over the final 40 minutes. John Gibson was very sharp in denying all but one of those shots. Several were quality saves. But the Ducks defended hard in front of their goalie and did well to limit high-danger chances. Anaheim managed to avoid costly turnovers, ones that might lead to odd-man rushes or looks from the slot. Jake Guentzel converted on a Lightning power play, finishing a right-circle one-timer. But that was all the Lightning would get on this night.
The possession metrics were heavily in favor of the Lightning, who registered 82 shot attempts. Anaheim had just 48. But the scoring chance numbers were much closer. Johansson made a handful of difficult saves to keep the Lightning within striking distance, including a breakaway stop on Terry in the second period.
Late in the third, the Lightning got caught when they failed to hold the puck in the offensive zone and allowed a two-on-one rush. Alex Killorn fed Jackson LaCombe for a crucial insurance goal at 16:26. Vatrano finished the scoring with an empty-netter.
During the three-game road trip, the Lightning’s play was mixed. They did keep the opposition goal count low, however. Excluding Vatrano’s empty-netter, they allowed only seven goals in the three contests. The bigger problem was that the Lightning only scored one goal in each of the three games. Goal scoring hasn’t been an issue this year, but that area hurt them on this trip.
Lightning Radio Three Stars of the Game:
- John Gibson — Ducks. 36 saves. 200th career win.
- Frank Vatrano — Ducks. Two goals and assist.
- Jonas Johansson — Lightning.
